The Trail of the Caribou—an almost decade-long campaign to honour the Royal Newfoundland Regiment’s involvement in the First World War—has been completed.
The monument—a bronze Caribou—has been erected in Gallipoli, Turkey, to mark the Royal Newfoundland Regiment’s involvement in the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915-1916.
The statue weighs some 1,500 pounds, is eight feet tall, and ten feet wide. It stands near the Hill 10 Cemetary, which is the final resting place for eight of the regiment’s soldiers. That includes Private Hugh McWhirter of Humbermouth, Bay of Islands—the regiment’s first casualty at the site.
The statue is one of six throughout Northern France, Belgium, and Turkey to mark sites of significance to the Royal Newfoundland Regiment.
The campaign began in 2012 as part of the province’s ‘Honour 100’ initiative to commemorate World War I.
Due to pandemic restrictions, a formal unveiling did not take place in Gallipoli. However, the province plans to hold a ceremony once global travel restrictions ease.
